Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit
Led by Associate Professor Janneke Berecki-Gisolf, the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit (VISU) has been analysing, interpreting and disseminating Victorian data on injury deaths, hospital admissions and emergency department presentations across the state, nationally and internationally for more than 25 years.
Injury surveillance data are recorded on three separate datasets:
- Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victorian Department of Justice Cause Of Death Unit Record File (COD URF - Deaths)
- Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED: hospital admissions)
- Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD: Emergency Department presentations)
Injury surveillance data is extracted and analysed by VISU. This critical information is provided to around 250 organisations and agencies each year, including the Commonwealth, state and local government departments and agencies, health and injury prevention organisations, media, business and industry, education institutes, research groups and the community. Data is used to underpin government injury prevention policies, stimulate research and to develop and evaluate prevention strategies and measures. These include community awareness initiatives and education, legislative and regulatory changes and safety-related environmental, equipment and product design improvements.
Hazard magazine
Hazard is a bi-annual publication produced since 1988. A cornerstone of the team’s work, it explores major and emerging issues in injury prevention. Hazard presents data on injury causes, severity, trends and risk factors, complemented by expert commentary and evidence-based prevention recommendations. In 2024, two Hazard magazines were published, one investigating micromobility-related injuries (including e-bikes and scooters) and the second on hospital falls.
Impact
The team’s impact in 2024 was reflected in both research outputs and public engagement. The team contributed to nine peer-reviewed publications, delivered three oral presentations at the Australasian Injury Prevention Network Conference in New Zealand, and saw significant growth in media citations, driven by its data request service and Injury Atlas, connecting the community to real-world injury data.
Major projects
In 2024, the team also collaborated across Australia on vital injury prevention projects. Collaborations include with Victoria’s South East Public Health Unit to examine regional differences in fall-related hospital admissions, and with Life Saving Victoria and Dr Amy Peden looking into hospital-admitted drowning injury.
The team has contributed to collaborative federal grants including: an MRFF was awarded for a collaboration with UNSW on emergency department surveillance; and an NHMRC grant collaborating with the Monash Addiction Research Centre on pharmaceutical poisoning. A major highlight of 2024 was securing a National Road Safety Action Grant for the National Occupational Road Transport Injury Surveillance System, a collaborative project co-led with Associate Professor Sjaan Koppel.
Internationally, the team is working with colleagues in the United States on a project comparing emergency department presentation data between Illinois and Victoria.
Funded by the Victorian Government, the team continues to deliver high-quality, impactful research that shapes injury prevention efforts in Victoria and beyond.
The Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit skills and expertise includes biostatistics, epidemiology, medicine, psychology, and abundant hands-on experience and expertise related to data management and health data analysis and interpretation. Team members hold advisory and executive committee positions including Safety Standards Australia’s Committee for Trampoline Parks Facilities, the National Injury Surveillance Advisory Committee, the Cross Jurisdictional Injury Group, and the Kidsafe Victoria Advisory Group.